Indigenous Thinking in Design: Human Computer Interaction (HCI) experience 

 

 

The global village facilitated by the increasing access and connectivity of technology is constantly challenging societal and cultural norms. This online reality bears evidence of the creative limitations and inhibitions of the people who design the technological platforms used by millions of people. As early as 1996 Williams alluded to this troublesome concept in his reference to the ‘Social Shaping of Technology’ (SST) defined as “how the design and implementation of technology are patterned by a range of ‘social’ and ‘economic’ factors as well as narrowly ‘technical’ considerations.” Technology design is not ‘neutral’, it is also based on a series of subjective values that determine the output. Primarily technology design has undeniably been driven by Eurocentric values. In lieu of this, this paper suggests that there is still room for Afrikan (African) identity to transform user experience by incorporating indigenous thinking in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) design. We plan to have a workshop aimed at stimulating dialogue on the important topics of design, Afrikan identity and HCI from an Afrikan perspective. Researchers in the HCI and Design space will share their work and methods related to implications of Afrikan identify for HCI. Finally, the workshop aims to inspire multidisciplinary research and collaboration is designing a more culturally inclusive global village.